Responsible Research Assessment (RRA):State-of-the-art and the way ahead

Keynote address for the Norwegian Network for Administration and Research Management (NARMA) Conference 2021.

Key findings from a new global survey of Responsible Research Assessment policies and practices in the participant organisations of the Global Research Council (GRC). The report was published alongside the November 2020 Global Research Council (GRC) virtual conference on responsible research assessment—and it was co-authored by a team drawn from DORA, the Research on Research Institute, CWTS in Leiden, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. https://researchonresearch.org/tpost/f1bfxzkiz1-new-rori-working-paper-the-changing-role

Progress update from Leiden University’s Recognition & Rewards steering group, and in particular “Academia in Motion,” a vision document for new Recognition and Reward mechanisms at Leiden University. The paper sets out the basic principles for Leiden, our aims, progress, and challenges. This is part of a larger, national initiative in the Netherlands for a new form of recognition and rewards in academia. This was sparked by concerns at all universities about the heavy workload, the quality of assessment and the lack of transparency in career policy. An influential coalition of funders, the association of universities and that of the medical centers published a position paper ‘Room for everyone’s talent’, and this lays out the ambitions for culture change, including more Open Science; a better balance between teaching and research; but also greater recognition of team science; and the elimination of simplistic assessment criteria.